report on the consultation on the proposal to...

SSLT Consultation Report v1.1.docx of 16 ©Cranwell Consultancy

REPORT ON THE CONSULTATION ON THE PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH

A MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST, SOUTH SUFFOLK LEARNING TRUST

1. Background

The Governing Bodies of three secondary schools in the South Suffolk are individually and collectively

considering a proposal to establish a new multi-academy trust, South Suffolk Learning Trust, and for one

of the schools to convert to academy status.

The three schools are listed in alphabetical order below:

• Claydon High School (LA maintained school) • East Bergholt High School (single academy) • Hadleigh High School (single academy)

The Governing Bodies of the three schools decided, at a joint meeting on July 12th 2016, to consult upon

the proposal for the schools to establish a multi-academy trust.

The Academies Act 2010 requires the Governing Body of a Local Authority maintained school to carry out

a formal consultation on this proposal. DfE guidance Making Significant Changes to an Open Academy, published in March 2016, states that ‘Academy trusts will need to ensure that a fair and open local

consultation has been undertaken’. �

The Governing Bodies recognised that it was important for the consultation to be managed consistently

and cohesively so agreed to run a coordinated consultation.

This report describes the consultation activities undertaken by each Governing Body, the feedback from

this activity and makes a recommendation about the outcome of consultation.

2. Purpose of Consultation

It is recognised by the Secretary of State for Education and the DfE that the Governing Body and

leadership team of a school is best placed to assess the benefits of academy status and to decide whether

it is appropriate for their school. Therefore, the purpose of consultation is for each Governing Body to

present the proposal to stakeholders, to gather feedback on the proposal and to understand the level of

stakeholder interest, support and objection. Each Governing Body can then determine whether there is

any significant stakeholder objection to the proposal that would cause them to reconsider.

3. Consultation proposal

For Claydon, East Bergholt and Hadleigh High Schools to establish a multi-academy trust and for Claydon

High School to convert to academy status.

4. Consultation Process

The academy consultation ran from Monday, September 12th

until Friday, October 21st

, a period of six (6)

academic weeks.

A summary of the consultation plan identifying the different stakeholders, how those stakeholders were

consulted and what information was to be provided, is overleaf.

SSLT Consultation Report v1.1.docx of 16 © Cranwell Consultancy

Stakeholder Approach Information

Parents and carers of

pupils attending the

schools

• Letter and FAQs sent to all

parents on Monday, September

12th

• Consultation meetings held as

follows:

o Hadleigh 6.00pm Monday,

September 19th

o East Bergholt 6.00pm Tuesday,

September 20th

o Claydon 6.00pm Monday,

September 26th

• Survey distributed at and after

consultation meetings

• Meeting Q&A summary

published October 3rd

• Parent & Carer Letter

• Consultation FAQs

• Consultation presentation

• Consultation survey


Staff employed by the

schools

• Letter and FAQs sent to all staff

on Monday, September 12th

• Consultation meetings held as

follows:

o Hadleigh 3.00pm Monday,

September 19th

o East Bergholt 4pm Tuesday,

September 20th

o Claydon 3.15pm Monday,

September 26th

• Survey distributed at and after

staff meeting.


published October 3rd

• Staff letter

• Staff Consultation FAQs

• Consultation presentation



Unions & professional

associations for staff

• Joint letter with copies of staff

letters, consultation FAQs and

survey sent to representatives


• Representatives invited to

attend all three staff

consultation meetings • Survey distributed at meeting.

• Meeting Q&A summary sent to

representatives published

October 4th

• Union letter

• Staff letters

• Staff Consultation FAQs


Other local schools • Letter sent to Headteachers of

local schools on Monday,

September 12th

• Community letter

Local MPs and

Councillors

• Letter sent to local politicians


• Community letter

The range of documents and information were published on the school websites with the URLs below:

http://claydonhigh.co.uk/academy-consultation.html

http://www.hadleighhigh.net/node/665

http://www.eastbergholthigh.suffolk.sch.uk/MAT-Consultation


5. Consultation meetings

5.1 Parent consultation meetings

Each of the meetings was attended by the number of parents/carers shown below:

Monday, September 19th Hadleigh High School (HHS) 14 attendees

Tuesday, September 20th East Bergholt High School (EBHS) 8 attendees

Monday, September 26th Claydon High School (CHS) 44 attendees

The format of each of the three consultation meetings was similar. The Headteachers presented the

reasons for and benefits of the proposal and then an advisor explained the multi academy trust’s MAT)

proposed governance, leadership and management principles.

A combined Q&A document from all three parent meetings is attached as appendix A.

5.2 Staff consultation meetings

The format of each of the three consultation meetings was similar. The Headteachers presented the

reasons for and benefits of the proposal and then an advisor explained the multi academy trust’s MAT)

proposed governance, leadership and management principles.

A combined Q&A document from all three staff meetings is attached as appendix B.

6. Consultation surveys

A table of analysis is attached as appendix C.

6.1 Breakdown of survey response rates

Key to colour code

SCHOOL STAKEHOLDER UNIVERSE YES MAYBE NO DK TOTAL TOTAL

PARENT 687 14 13 22 13 62 9%

TEACHER 48 5 3 0 0 8 17%

SUPPORT STAFF 39 3 1 0 1 5 13%

TOTAL 774 22 17 22 14 75 10%

PARENT 923 3 0 0 0 3 0%

TEACHER 60 1 0 0 0 1 2%


TOTAL 1029 5 0 0 0 5 0%

PARENT 756 76 36 14 56 182 24%

TEACHER 52 7 4 3 1 15 29%


TOTAL 848 86 44 17 57 204 24%

RESPONSES (NO.)

ClaydonHigh School

East BergholtHigh School

Hadleigh High School

RESPONSES (% OF UNIVERSE)

KEY TO COLOUR SCHEME Above average for a secondary school consultation (Parents >7%, Staff >50%, Support Staff >33%)

Average for a secondary school consulation (Parents =4-6%, Teachers = 33-50%, Suppport Staff = 25-33%)

Below average for a secondary school consultation (Parents= <3%, Teachers <33%, Support Staff <25%)

Significantly below average (Parents <1%, Teachers = <15%, Support Staff <10%)


There are two points of interest regarding the overall response rates:

• Hadleigh’s parent response rate of 24% is impressively high for a secondary academy consultation

and Claydon’s parent response rate of 10% is above average for a secondary school academy

consultation.

• Staff response rates in all three schools were below average for a secondary academy consultation.

6.2 Breakdown of survey responses

There are a few key points from the breakdown of the survey responses.

• Hadleigh parents have not objected to the proposal and it could be interpreted reasonably that

they support it based on YES responses (10%) outnumbering the NO responses nearly five to one.

• Claydon parents have not objected to the proposal with only 3% of parents/carers responding NO

to the proposal, which is almost matched by YES responses.

• Claydon teachers have not objected to the proposal with 0% NO responses.

• A small proportion (6%) of Hadleigh teachers did object to the proposal but given this was

outnumbered two to one by YES responses, this is not considered significant. • None of East Bergholt’s stakeholder groups have objected to the proposal.

6.5 Consultation responses from Unions

Unions and professional associations were invited to attend the staff meetings and representatives of

NUT, NASUWT, Unison and GMB were in attendance. Representatives were able to ask questions at each

SCHOOL STAKEHOLDER UNIVERSE TOTAL YES NO YES MAYBE NO DK TOTAL

PARENT 687 9% 2% 3% 23% 21% 35% 21% 100%

TEACHER 48 17% 10% 0% 63% 38% 0% 0% 100%

SUPPORT STAFF 39 13% 8% 0% 60% 20% 0% 20% 100%

TOTAL 774 10% 3% 3% 29% 23% 29% 19% 100%

PARENT 923 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 100%

TEACHER 60 2% 2% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 100%

SUPPORT STAFF 46 2% 2% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 100%

TOTAL 1029 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 100%

PARENT 756 24% 10% 2% 42% 20% 8% 31% 100%

TEACHER 52 29% 13% 6% 47% 27% 20% 7% 100%

SUPPORT STAFF 40 18% 8% 0% 43% 57% 0% 0% 100%

TOTAL 848 24% 10% 2% 42% 22% 8% 28% 100%

RESPONSES (% OF RESPONSES)

ClaydonHigh School




Responses as % of universe

Responses of % of responsesEither evidence of support for the proposal or lack of significant objectionEvidence of some objection to the proposalEvidence of objection to the proposalEvidence of significant objection to the proposal

Either evidence of support for the proposal or lack of significant objectionEvidence of some objection to the proposalEvidence of objection to the proposalEvidence of significant objection to the proposal

Above average evidence of support for proposal



meeting. No formal response to the academy consultation has been received from unions and professional

associations.

7. Consultation summary and recommendation

The consultation with the key stakeholders of all three schools has been comprehensive.

The outcome of consultation in all three schools is that there was almost no objection to the proposal

among any stakeholder group.

Therefore, the Governing Bodies of Claydon High School, East Bergholt High School and Hadleigh High

School are advised that the consultation has not demonstrated any significant objection that should cause

them to reconsider the proposal for the school to become an academy and establish a multi-academy

trust.

APPENDIX A: Combined Q&A from the joint parent consultation meetings

APPENDIX B: Combined Q&A from the staff consultation meetings

APPENDIX C: Survey data


APPENDIX A

SUMMARY OF PARENT CONSULTATION MEETING QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

A. STRATEGY&PLANNING

Has the change of Prime Minister had an impact on academy policy? Could Government policy change in the future? (EBHS)

The Government seems fully committed to the policy of schools becoming academies as set out on the

White Paper published in March 2016. However, in July 2016 the Secretary of State removed the

requirement that they do so by 2020.

Why do you need a MAT to collaborate? (HHS) Could you bring about these outcomes without becoming a MAT? (EBHS)

The key advantage of a MAT is that, as a single legal entity, it makes everyone involved accountable and

responsible for the performance of all schools, students and staff. This shared ownership will drive

sustainable improvement more quickly and effectively than informal partnerships, which tend to be

subject to the enthusiasm of the individuals involved.

As a single legal entity the MAT also makes the process of sharing expertise and resources simpler and

fairer and is able to more clearly recognise the value of school-to-school support.

Are there any other schools locally that could join? (EBHS) How many more high schools in the area are maintained? (CHS)

The schools are clear that the MAT will be local hence the name South Suffolk Learning Trust. There are

six of seven Suffolk secondary schools that are not academies although none are in the local area.

Have you considered a local family of feeder primary under Hadleigh? (HHS) Are primary schools likely to join and would they have representation on the board? Would this take the focus away from the high schools? (CHS)

There is already a large amount of partnership working with primary schools, especially on transition

across Years 5-7.

The schools are absolutely committed to the MAT serving the different communities of South Suffolk and

would welcome primary schools to join. One of the local complications is the large number of Church

primary schools, which could not join a non-Church MAT such as South Suffolk Learning Trust.

For the MAT to provide the same benefits to primary schools as intended for the four secondary schools,

there needs to be a critical mass of primary schools that can work together. Each of the schools is in

discussion with feeder primary schools about what a MAT could offer them. If enough primary schools are

interested, then the MAT would expand to include primary schools. The involvement of primary schools in

MAT governance would need to be discussed with them.

What are the risks? (HHS)

There are two types of risk that Governors have considered

First, the risks of the current situation. The biggest challenge that schools face is sustaining performance

and standards when dealing singlehandedly with a combination of;

• theincreasingfinancialpressures,squeezingstaffingandresources,• thedifficultiesinretaining,developingandrecruitinghighqualitystaffandleadership,• thecostandavailabilityofrelevant,impactfulprofessionaldevelopment,• thecontinuingdeclineoftheLocalAuthority’scapacitytosupportschoolsand


• theneedtorespondtoacontinuallychangingeducationallandscape.

Ultimately any school that gets in difficulty faces the risk of being taken over by another MAT.

Second, the risks of establishing the MAT which span school performance, finance, property and

employment. The Governors have considered these risks and a working group is monitoring them very

carefully using a Risk Plan.

Overall, Governors believe that establishing the MAT will address the risks of the current situation and

enable each school to continue to flourish.

What happens if the 4 schools set up trust and there are several schools which need to be placed into a trust in 2019? Do we have any control over this? (EBHS)

The MAT has ultimate control on whether a school joins the MAT.

How likely is Northgate to join? (HHS) Is the sixth form at Northgate included in this MAT proposal? Could Northgate be swayed by another trust? Why is Northgate joining later? (CHS) If Northgate don’t come on board will the MAT be short of numbers? (EBHS)

Northgate Governors and its Headteacher have been involved in the discussions about the MAT and are

very supportive.

However, Northgate needs to address two matters before it is in a position to join the MAT: first,

managing the impact of significant reduction in national funding for sixth form places and second, its

complex site which includes a sports centre run by Ipswich Borough Council Suffolk and an Arts Centre

owned by Suffolk County Council.

Once Northgate is in a position to join the MAT, its Governing Body will need to agree to start

consultation. They are not considering any other options.

The MAT is viable with three schools and 2,300 pupils, even with Northgate possibly joining later.

What criteria for the consultation? (HHS) What happens in a few months, after consultation, if 2 schools say yes and 2 schools say no? (EBHS)

The Governing Bodies are putting forward the MAT proposal because they believe it is in the best interests

of their individual schools. The purpose of consultation is gather the views and feedback of each school

community and determine whether there is a significant objection to the proposal.

There is no formula for the assessing the outcome of the consultation. Each Governing Body will consider

the outcome of the consultation, including the survey responses, and use its judgement to determine

whether there is a significant objection.

The consultation is on a MAT of Claydon, East Bergholt and Hadleigh with Northgate possibly joining at a

later date. If any of the schools decided not to proceed the other Governing Bodies would need to consider

whether they still wished to proceed.

B. TEACHING,LEARNING&PEFORMANCE

Academic outcomes are measurable what what about the less tangible ones? How quickly do you expect to see improvement and what happens if you don’t improve in 2 or 3 years? (EBHS)

The MAT will enable each school to make a number of small improvements in a number of different areas

to achieve an overall improvement (described as the Dave Brailsford Sky Cycling team) approach. The

schools expect to see benefits of the MAT from day one through the partnership working between schools.

The impact of the MAT on school headline measures such as student progress and attainment will take

longer to come through perhaps over 2 -3 years. Work will need to be done to identify the MAT’s

contribution to school improvement.

Would we be allowed to break from the National Curriculum and develop and improve? (CHS) Will the curriculum be wider through collaboration? (HHS)


Although academies can vary from the National Curriculum their performance is still judged using criteria

linked to the national curriculum. So, in practice, Hadleigh and East Bergholt each have a curriculum that

are pretty closely aligned to the National Curriculum.

Each school will continue to be free to choose the curriculum they believe is right for their students.

However, the MAT could help each school widen their curriculum, especially for those subjects where

perhaps student numbers don’t justify a full time teacher and part-time teacher is difficult to recruit. In

that situation the MAT could employ a Trust-wide subject teacher.

On a day to day level what will students see and feel? (EBHS)? What’s in it for our children if there is no movement of staff or students? (CHS)

To start with the students won’t notice any immediate difference. They will still be in their same uniform,

being taught in in the same classrooms by the same teaching staff.

However, in time the students may notice changes and improvements in the way that they learn, resulting

from the greater opportunities for teacher to work together on subject and lesson plans and resources. In

particular, they will benefit from the sharing of excellent practice in teaching and learning between the

partner schools. They will also have wider opportunities to experience a broader range of activities and

study a richer curriculum.

What would happen if one of the partner schools in the trust became less than good?

The aim of the MAT is to improve school performance so it is hoped it would prevent any school from

declining. However, if a school was judged by Ofsted as Requires Improvement and/or its performance

against national measures was considered poor, then the DfE would ask the MAT to present an

improvement plan and would monitor progress.

If a school was judged by Ofsted as Inadequate, then it is possible that the DfE would take the school out of

South Suffolk Learning Trust and place it in another MAT.

Will we have similar assessment systems across all schools? (EBHS)

Each of the schools has recently developed its own assessment frameworks in response to the changes to

Key Stage 4 (GCSE) examinations and the dropping of progress levels. Local efforts involving a number of

schools to develop a common assessment framework struggled.

So it is expected that each school will continue with its own assessment framework, which are not

significantly different. As long as the Headteachers, Trustees and Governors are able to compare and

contrast attainment and progress between schools easily and accurately, there is no immediate need to

implement a single framework.

Will our children have activities week back? (CHS)

No.

C. GOVERNANCE

Who will be the Members and Directors? Who appoints the Members at the start? (HHS)

In simple terms the Governors of the three founding schools will appoint the starting Members and

Directors.

The Governors and Trustees of the four schools have been invited to nominate themselves as either a

Member or Director/Trustee by completing a profile template. Once all nominations are received a

working group of Chairs and Headteachers will review a list showing their particular skills and expertise

against the seven (7) key areas. They will then make a recommendation to the Governing Bodies to

consider at the joint meeting on November 15th

.

Without guaranteed representation per school could one school take control of the MAT? (HHS)


No. Future Trustees will be appointed by the Members based on the recommendation of those Trustees in

post at the time. It is almost impossible to imagine a situation where the Members would agree for one

school to have so many Trustees that it has virtual control of the MAT.

D. LEADERSHIP

Would the appointment of the CEO wait until Northgate joins the MAT? (CHS)

No. The MAT has to appoint a CEO from the start. However, it is recognised that the MAT and the role of

the CEO could change significantly over a two to three-year period. Therefore, the first CEO will be

appointed on an interim, part-time basis for between 18 months and two years. A new appointment will

then be made, which if Northgate were part of the MAT could include their Headteacher.

Is there anyone else on the Leadership Group or just the four heads? (CHS)

Initially, the four Headteachers would be the only formal members of the Leadership Group but they

would be free to invite other senior leaders within their schools to join meetings if there were relevant

topics.

Is one day a week realistic for the CEO to perform their role? (CHS)

Yes, based on the agreed scope of the post and the support of other staff such as Chief Finance Officer.

The Trustees will keep a close eye to ensure the CEO’s workload is manageable and their leadership of

their own school was not adversely affected. If necessary, the post responsibilities and time commitment

would be reviewed.

E. FINANCE&PROPERTY

Who makes the final decision on budgets? (HHS) Would funding be affected in terms of a school is doing badly so money is passed to that school by the others? (CHS)? Would each school get its own funding and have choices over how it is spent? (CHS) Will you lose your own ability to manage your budget? (EBHS)

The Trustees are responsible for approving the Trust budget as part of clear process of budget

development, review and scrutiny.

Each Headteacher will retain responsibility to develop their school budget based on their funding. They

will need to make allowance for their share of the Trust central charges. Headteachers will consult with

colleague Headteachers to identify opportunities for joint commissioning or resource sharing where

appropriate. Each school budget will then be reviewed by its Local Governing Body and then proposed to

the Finance & Audit Committee.

The Finance & Audit Committee will then review all the school budgets as part of a consolidated Trust

budget. They will then recommend the Trust budget to the Board for approval.

How will MAT deliver savings? (HHS)

The MAT will be able to secure financial savings by commissioning a series of Trust-wide contracts across

three or four schools rather than a series of smaller single school contracts.

What will the top-slice % be? (HHS)

The MAT will not have a fixed top-slice (%). Instead it will calculate the Trust’s central charges each year

based on the resources and activities needed to run the Trust efficiently, effectively and compliantly. The

aim is to keep these charges as low as feasible and they could vary as a percentage each year. The schools

will each receive additional funding in the form of the Education Services Grant (ESG) until at least August

2017.

Will East Bergholt lose out and have to cut teachers? (EBHS)

No. East Bergholt will continue to receive its funding based its pupil numbers and the Suffolk County

Council funding formula.


Will the MAT be taxed on any surplus? Who will decide on how any surpluses are spent? (CHS)

No. The MAT has charitable exemption which means it does not pay corporation tax, even though it is a

Company Limited by Guarantee. Surpluses created by schools will be retained by the school. The MAT will

determine how surpluses created by the MAT will be spent.

F. STAFF&EMPLOYMENT

Will teachers move between schools? (HHS)

Teachers and other staff will continue to work in the school they currently do and their contract of

employment naming the school will transfer across.

However, there are three circumstances where staff may work in another school. First, is when a job at

another MAT school is advertised and an employee applies for and is appointed to that role. Second, when

a staff member voluntarily agrees to a secondment or temporary placement. Third, there may be new

posts created in the future that are Trust-wide and any staff member appointed to such a post would be

expected to work across schools.

Is it true that MAT can employ non qualified teachers? (EBHS) When Claydon becomes an academy will it employ unqualified teachers? (CHS)

Schools can employ staff without Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) now regardless of whether they are

Local Authority maintained or academy status. Indeed, the schools each have examples of staff employed

as instructors whose teaching is very good

However, the schools’ priority will always be to recruit qualified teachers to teach.

How do the staff feel? (CHS)

Staff are being consulted in parallel with parents so it is not possible to comment.

G. SCHOOLMANAGEMENT

Will the Trust adopt grammar school style admission principles? (EBHS)

All four Headteachers are absolutely clear that they would not support admission based on academic

selection

Would pupils attend Northgate Sixth Form? (CHS)

As now students will be encouraged to purse the further education pathway that is right for them, based

on appropriate Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG). As now some students will choose Northgate

Sixth Form but other students will choose different destinations.

Would consideration be given to having a common name for all the 4 schools? (CHS)

No.


APPENDIX B

SUMMARY OF PARENT CONSULTATION MEETING QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

A. STRATEGY&PLANNING

How set in stone are the principles? In one year or two years’ time could things change? What happens when the current Head leave? (HHS, CHS, EBHS)

The MAT vision, ethos and values have been agreed by the Governing Bodies and anybody putting

themselves forward to be a Member or Trustee will be expected to honour and uphold them. They would

also be expected to ensure that future members and Trustees understood and promised to uphold the

MAT vision, ethos and values.

Why is Northgate joining later? (EBHS)

Northgate Governors and its Headteacher have been involved in the discussions about the MAT and are

very supportive.

However, Northgate needs to address two matters before it is in a position to join the MAT: first,

managing the impact of significant reduction in national funding for sixth form place and second, its

complex site which includes a sport centre run by Ipswich Borough Council Suffolk and an Arts Centre

owned by Suffolk County Council.

Once Northgate is in a position to join the MAT its Governing Body will need to agree to start consultation.

B. TEACHING,LEARNING&PEFORMANCE

As well as teachers working on different sites is there any chance of pupils going to different sites such as a pupil who wanted to do A level Spanish alongside their GCSEs? (CHS)

The MAT does offer opportunities to widen the curriculum, especially for subjects or course where student

numbers in one school are too low to make it feasible for that school to offer the course. In that scenario it

is more likely that staff would move between schools rather than pupils.

Are Ofsted inspections still run and reported per school? (EBHS)

Yes.

C. GOVERNANCE

Who will be the Members and Directors? (HHS) Is it easy to recruit? (EBHS)? Can Trustees also be Governors (HHS)

In simple terms the Governors of the three founding schools will appoint the starting Members and

Trustees.

The Governors and Trustees of the four schools have been invited to nominate themselves as either a

Member or Trustee by completing a profile template. Once all nominations are received a working group

of Chairs and Headteachers will review a list showing their particular skills and expertise against the seven

(7) key areas. They will then make a recommendation to the Governing Bodies to consider at the joint

meeting on November 15th

.

Typically, MATs have been able to recruit sufficient quality and numbers of Members and Trustees.

Trustees can serve as Governors but not a Members, with the exception of the Chair of Trustees

Will there be staff and parent elected representatives on the MAT Board? (HHS)

No. Elected staff and parent governors will sit on the Local Governing Bodies. However, there is nothing to

stop parents or staff being appointed as Trustees because of their particular skills and expertise.


D. LEADERSHIP

What happens if the Headteacher leaves? Who will headteachers be appointed by? (HHS)

The Local Governing Body will lead the process to appoint a new Headteacher with input from the other

Headteachers and Trustees. The final appointment will be approved by the Trustees.

How will the school that the CEO come from be protected? (HHS)

The MAT will pay for the additional costs of any leadership cover in that school

E. FINANCE&PROPERTY

Who makes the final decision on budgets? (HHS) Would funding be affected in terms of a school is doing badly so money is passed to that school by the others? (CHS)? Would each school get its own funding and have choices over how it is spent? (CHS) Will you lose your own ability to manage your budget? (EBHS)

The Trustees are responsible for approving the Trust budget as part of a clear process of budget

development, review and scrutiny.

Each Headteacher will retain responsibility to develop their school budget based on their funding. They

will need to make allowance for their share of the Trust central charges. Headteachers will consult with

colleague Headteachers to identify opportunities for joint commissioning or resource sharing where

appropriate. Each school budget will then be reviewed by its Local Governing Body and then proposed to

the Finance & Audit Committee.

The Finance & Audit Committee will then review all the school budgets as part of a consolidated Trust

budget. They will then recommend the Trust budget to the Board for approval.

How viable is the MAT financially? Has a five (5) year budget been prepared? (HHS)

All schools face increasing financial pressure as funding is flat or reduced and costs rise. The MAT gives the

schools the best opportunity to secure savings through joint procurement and commissioning. The schools

have carried out financial due diligence for the three founding schools over a three (3) year period and are

satisfied that no school presents a financial risk to the others. A viable initial MAT central budget has been

prepared and will be considered by the Governing Bodies.

How will MAT deliver savings? (HHS) Will the MAT look at shared services such as finance and HR? (EBHS)

The MAT will be able to secure financial savings by commissioning a series of Trust-wide contracts across

three or four schools rather than a series of smaller single school contracts. These will include HR, payroll,

finance support and similar types of service.

What will the top-slice % be? (HHS, CHS, EBHS)

The MAT will not have a fixed top-slice (%). Instead it will calculate the Trust’s central charges each year

based on the resources and activities needed to run the Trust efficiently, effectively and compliantly. The

aim is to keep these charges as low as feasible and they could vary as a percentage each year. The schools

will each receive additional funding in the form of the Education Services Grant (ESG) until at least August

2017.

If a school has a long standing relationship with an external supplier will that arrangement need to be approved by the Trustees (HHS)?

Any commercial relationship will be subject to the MAT’s procurement rules. The Trustees have a

responsibility to ensure public funds are used effectively, efficiently and compliantly.


F. STAFF&EMPLOYMENT

How long will TUPE protection last after TUPE? (HHS) How would changes to terms and conditions be negotiated? (CHS) How will the commitment to matching national agreements be delivered? (EBHS)

When staff are subject to a transfer of employment they are legally protected to transfer under the same

employment terms and conditions. Like any employer, the proposed South Suffolk Learning Trust could

propose to change terms and conditions in the future. As now, there are clear policies on consultation with

staff on any proposed changes and rules on salary protection. Because the staff will transfer under TUPE

they have the protection that their terms and conditions may never be changed to their detriment if the

main reason for the change is the TUPE transfer itself.

The proposed South Suffolk Learning Trust cannot automatically adopt future national collective

agreements on pay and conditions because it would not be represented at those national negotiations.

The Governors of the schools forming the South Suffolk Learning Trust have, however, committed that it

will seek to adopt, as a minimum, the national and local agreements for annual pay awards agreed

between unions and employers for teachers and support staff respectively.

It is proposed that the South Suffolk Learning Trust will set up a mechanism to consult with staff, unions

and professional associations on future pay awards and changes to other terms and conditions of

employment.

Are we clear that the trust cannot go down the road of imposing changes? Can they impose changes to employment? (CHS)

The MAT would seek consult and agree with unions and staff any future changes to terms & conditions. As

a fair, consistent and effective employer the MAT would not want to impose any changes. However, in

theory any employer can impose changes as long as they are compliant with the prevailing employment

law and the employer has completed adequate consultation with unions and staff.

Will staff move between schools? (CHS)

Teachers and other staff will continue to work in the school they currently do and their contract of

employment naming the school will transfer across.

However, there are three circumstances where staff may work in another school. First, is when a job at

another MAT school is advertised and an employee applies for and is appointed to that role. Second, when

a staff member voluntarily agrees to a secondment or temporary placement. Third, there may be new

posts created in the future that are Trust-wide and any staff member appointed to such a post would be

expected to work across schools.

Why will new staff be deployable across schools (HHS) Is this a future plan for all staff? (CHS)? What and existing member of staff moves to another post or changes the terms of the contract e.g. goes part-time? (CHS) Could being deployable at other MAT schools make it less appealing? (EBHS)

Governors have proposed that new staff will different contracts that mean they can be deployed across

schools. This flexibility would be used carefully to avoid disruption to the schools, staff and students.

Existing staff will not have this type contract if they move to another post at a MAT school. If they move to

a Trust-wide post, then clearly they would have to work across schools and this would be reflected in their

specific contract.

How will support staff pensions be affected? (HHS)

The legal agreement that South Suffolk Learning Trust will have with the Secretary of State makes it a

requirement that it offers participation in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) to all support

staff. As a member of the support staff working in an academy, you will still be eligible to pay contributions

in to the LGPS.


The LGPS runs support staff pensions on behalf of the Suffolk County Council. As your employer, the

Trust would be responsible for collecting and paying employer and employee contributions to the LGPS

and for all other administrative responsibilities set out in the LGPS policies.

The LGPS determine the employer and employee pension contributions and the Trust cannot vary or

change these. Any future changes will be decided by the LGPS not the Trust. Benefits paid to support staff

on retirement are not affected by academy status.

Can you confirm about continuity of service between Trust schools? (EBHS) If we moved schools would our length of service be recognised with regard to pensions and redundancy? (CHS)

If a member of staff moves between MAT schools, then they would still a MAT employee and Continuity of

Service would continue for all aspects of their employment including pensions and redundancy

If a member staff moves to post outside the MAT they need to check that the new employer will recognise

their Continuity of Service. Currently, there is no legal obligation for a Local Authority or another academy

trust to recognise continuity of service of academy trust employees for all aspects of employment.

The unions are not in agreement with all county policies so can we be assured that all changes will go in front of JNC? Is there an intention to standardise HR policies across the schools? (EBHS)

The current employment and HR policies in each school will be the policies that transfer across under

TUPE regulations. Since the schools have typically adopted Suffolk County Council policies it is expected

they will be very similar.

Any future changes to policies, such as changes to standardise, would be consulted upon with unions and

staff. The schools cannot commit to change existing policies that unions don’t agree with. The MAT would

be interested to hear what elements of policies that the unions were unable to agree with the Local

Authority.

What happens if support staff are being different amounts for doing the same job? (HHS)

If support staff are being paid different amounts for doing exactly the same job then the MAT would not be

a fair, consistent and effective employer. The schools have already commissioned and HR advisor to

review similar support staff posts across schools. The schools have used the Suffolk County Council

framework of pay scales and job descriptions developed out of Equal Status so it is hoped there will be very

few examples, if any, of exactly the same job indifferent schools being paid different amounts

Will senior leaders be paid extra for covering for the Headteacher when they are acting up as CEO? (HHS)

Yes, although the detail of how this will be worked out is to be considered further.

Will Trust contribute to Facilities Time (union rep contributions)?

Yes.

Unions welcome the employment principles. How can they be written and enshrined somewhere? (Union @ EBHS)

Some of the principles may form part of the measures set out in the TUPE Regulation 13 letter. This will be

considered as part of the TUPE process.

More broadly, the MAT vision, ethos and values will be set out clearly in the MAT information such as

website. It is very hard to enshrine these principles in legal documents since the DfE will not accept such

changes to their model documents.

G. SCHOOLMANAGEMENT

Will the Trust adopt grammar school style admission principles? (EBHS)

All four Headteachers are absolutely clear that they would not support admission based on academic

selection


Would pupils attend Northgate Sixth Form? (CHS)

As now students will be encouraged to purse the further education pathway that is right for them based on

appropriate Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG). As now some students will choose Northgate Sixth

Form but other students will choose different destinations.

SSLT Consultation Report v1.1.docx of 16 ©Cranwell Consultancy

APPENDIX C: Consultation Survey Data

SCHOOL STAKEHOLDER UNIVERSE YES MAYBE NO DK TOTAL TOTAL YES NO YES MAYBE NO DK TOTAL

PARENT 687 14 13 22 13 62 9% 2% 3% 23% 21% 35% 21% 100%

TEACHER 48 5 3 0 0 8 17% 10% 0% 63% 38% 0% 0% 100%

SUPPORT STAFF 39 3 1 0 1 5 13% 8% 0% 60% 20% 0% 20% 100%

TOTAL 774 22 17 22 14 75 10% 3% 3% 29% 23% 29% 19% 100%

PARENT 923 3 0 0 0 3 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 100%

TEACHER 60 1 0 0 0 1 2% 2% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 100%

SUPPORT STAFF 46 1 0 0 0 1 2% 2% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 100%

TOTAL 1029 5 0 0 0 5 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 100%

PARENT 756 76 36 14 56 182 24% 10% 2% 42% 20% 8% 31% 100%

TEACHER 52 7 4 3 1 15 29% 13% 6% 47% 27% 20% 7% 100%

SUPPORT STAFF 40 3 4 0 0 7 18% 8% 0% 43% 57% 0% 0% 100%

TOTAL 848 86 44 17 57 204 24% 10% 2% 42% 22% 8% 28% 100%

KEY TO COLOUR SCHEME Overall Response Rates

Responses as % of universe

Responses of % of responses

RESPONSES (NO.)

RESPONSES (% OF RESPONSES)

ClaydonHigh School




Above average for a secondary school consultation (Parents >7%, Staff >50%, Support Staff >33%)Average for a secondary school consulation (Parents =4-6%, Teachers = 33-50%, Suppport Staff = 25-33%)Below average for a secondary school consultation (Parents= <3%, Teachers <33%, Support Staff <25%)Significantly below average (Parents <1%, Teachers = <15%, Support Staff <10%)





report on the consultation on the proposal to...

Documents